Riviera Middle School Changed Math Solutions with Just Two Months Left in the School Year

Just two months before the end of the school year, Riviera Middle School discarded the math resources that had been used all year and brought Knowre Math into the classroom to prepare students for standardized testing. Previous experience using Knowre Math gave teachers confidence that Knowre would best help students prepare for standardized testing.

Schools typically don’t adopt a new software the last 2 months of the year, but Riviera Middle School did. Why?

When it came time to start preparing for standardized tests, Riviera Middle School was on a mission to find a flexible math resource to use in all classrooms. Knowre Math stood out as a favorite among the teachers and the students who used it previously. The students loved that they got to use Knowre Math once again and the positive feedback about the online program from students was overwhelming. The teachers liked Knowre Math for the insightful, truly actionable data and clear standards alignments. Knowre Math quickly replaced all other math instructional practice tools in Riviera Middle School classrooms.

“Targeted 10 helped the most, it was mainly word problems that make you think.”
“Helped me understand the kind of problems that will be on the FSA.”
“It gave me different problems within the same content.”

What was not working in the school prior to using Knowre Math? How has Knowre Math helped to solve these prior challenges?

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USE CASE

One of Riviera Middle School’s teachers, Yudenia, teaches math remediation classes to kids up to two grade levels behind. After teaching a lesson, the teacher assigns students a Targeted 10. The Targeted 10 is ideal for practicing a skill set because the 10 algorithmically generated questions are based on teacher-selected topics and focus on individual students’ areas for growth. With Targeted 10 assignments, students are working within their zone of proximal development. For students who continue to struggle with a skill or topic, Yudenia will assign the specific lesson in addition to a Targeted 10 assignment.

Educators at Riviera Middle School found that Knowre Math is effective for all levels of students. The Knowre Success Score (KSS) identifies a student’s level of independence with a topic or skill set, and the Walk Me Through (WMT) step-by-step breakdown helps students with problem-solving at a sub-skill level. This means that students’ individual needs can be addressed in a way that allows the kids to own their learning and helps to build student agency in their learning.

Another teacher, Vivian, uses Knowre Math to train her students like athletes. She reviews each student's time on task, achievement, and progress on skills. To read more about how Vivian implements Knowre Math in her classroom, check out her success story, Extreme Test Prep: Training Academic Athletes.

“It's enjoyable! Unlike any other program, Knowre has helped me understand different skills and topics.” — Riviera student who has used Knowre Math

How would you implement it next year, if you had more time, other than these last two months for test prep?

Yudenia would like to use Ready? Check. Go! to see students' knowledge and skills gaps. That way, she could be more productive with class time and how she assigns work on Knowre Math. Vivian would like to teach the lesson as usual, then use Knowre Math to address previous skills needed for the new skill set. She would assign lessons in Knowre Math for students to work through independently.